The Police Commissoner Mike Bush has raised the possibility of a link between the Christchurch terror attack and the apparent suicide of a man whose home was raided for firearms.
In the aftermath of a police siege on the streets of Christchurch, Troy Dubovskiy was found inside a car with a fatal stab wound. Armed police had surrounded the car in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
- Armed police swarm Christchurch street
- Jews outraged after mosque leader blames Mossad for Christchurch attack
A police negotiation team spoke to the man for a number of hours, with a police helicopter and the Armed Offenders Squad also ready to support. It followed a police raid on his home in the suburb of St Martins.
Firearms were found after a tip-off from a neighbour.
Troy Dubovskiy is a 54-year-old Russian. His father Vlad Dubovskiy denies he had any link to the March 15 Mosque attacks, where an alleged gunman killed 50 worshippers.
"That's rubbish. That's rubbish. He never was terrorist - he was a good man," Vlad told Newshub.
The potential terror link was raised by Mike Bush, who said: "A high-priority investigation is underway to determine whether or not the deceased man posed a threat to the community."
"At this time, there is no evidence to suggest this person had any involvement in the attacks on 15 March, however this forms an important part of the investigation."
Vlad Dubovskiy and another family member said Troy was not a white supremacist. He did, though, have an interest in guns.
"What I know is my son was a fanatic for this stuff [guns] - but just from a technical view," Vlad told Newshub.
He was into AirSoft guns - air guns that fire pellets. They are meant to be safe - you don't need a gun licence for one - and are primarily used for war games.
Neighbours describe Troy as "a man who didn't want to be known". Others said he had a large scar and claimed to be ex-Russian military.
But his father says that's not true.
"He didn't resist police. He didn't attack police. Why he is dead now, I don't know - we don't have an explanation," Vlad said.
The big question remains: when stopped by police in the middle of the night, why didn't Troy Dubovskiy give himself up?
Newshub.
